Musings on Dexter, Season 7–Warnin’–Spoilers and Speculation Ahead

Masuka: I was ready to blow you!
Dexter: Not necessary.

I love Dexter, it’s my favorite show of all time, and after 6 incredible seasons it seems petty to complain about any of it. If the last 2 seasons are utter crap (an impossibility) it won’t matter, it’s been an amazing ride, and Dexter Morgan is one of the most beloved characters of all time.

Since people complain about everything, including stuff they love: while the average episode of Dexter dominates even the best of most other shows, last week’s ep, the first ep after Deb discovers Dex is a killer, was one of the weakest.

In all fairness, there was no way “Sunshine and Frosty Swirl”, Episode 2 of Season 7, could possibly top the first (Are you…?). Ep. 2 almost had no choice but to be a ‘setupisode’ where very little happens and the tone for the season is set.

That would be OK, except what transpires doesn’t make sense.

So now Deb knows, and had to choose between several options: turn Dex in, kill Dex, keep Dex’s secret. She chooses to keep Dex’s secret, a plausible reaction for the character as well as the continuation of the series.  Where the writers
screwed up was the scene where Dexter explains why he’s a serial killer (and the Bay Harbor Butcher, though she doesn’t call him that).

It’s bad lines for both characters. Instead of having Dex desperately appeal to Deb’s cop side and explaining the logic and methodology of Harry’s Code, the writers made Dex’s defense meandering and lazy (we’re talking about the rest of his life here!) and Deb react in a horrified, stilted way that, to me, was out-of-character for a hardened detective. Deb’s ‘solution’ of babysitting him around the clock makes zero sense, unless…

Unless the incest storyline will be pursued.

I watched all 6 seasons of Dexter almost at once, never consulting wikipedia or any other source so as not to spoil things. I only recently discovered that in real life, over a few short years, Hall and Carpenter dated, married and divorced, a real-life shocker on par with Julie Benz’ departing the show.

Not being there, I can only assume that during their brief union, H & C brought up the incest idea at a creative meeting. I imagine the two of them excitedly pitching this idea to the writing team, and everyone just looking at each other, smiling weakly and saying nothing, hoping their eyes don’t give away the panicked incredulity they must have felt in that moment.

Not that the incest idea is entirely implausible (Dex and Deb are not blood-related siblings) but it really just seems an extension of a crazy idea two actors had while married.  Deb’s stupid shrink brought it up near the end of Season 6, but even then the connection just didn’t seem authentic; over the years Deb has hooked-up a lot and dated an amateur boxer, Frank Lundy, the Black Guy (now the ‘bodyguard’ on Arrow) and had a fling with Detective Pretty Boy. The idea that ALL of these were somehow surrogates for Dexter (even Lundy?) just didn’t gel with me.

And now, well, the show is still going through with it.  

Currently Dex is forced to sleep in Deb’s bedroom so he can’t ‘sneak out’, and say, isn’t it oddly convenient that Deb’s bathroom door has a full-length frosted window, perfect for nude silhouettes?

The Big Boss villain, the Eastern European gangster, is fairly generic so far. When an evil character says very little and acts politely, it means s/he is secretly very deadly, as proven with the former strip club bodyguard getting a screwdriver through the eye socket.

The biggest logic fail of this ep isn’t even between Deb and Dex, it’s Dex’s dealings with Gamer Guy. I hated Gamer Guy from the start, solely because he resembles the mop-topped nerd from Big Bang Theory, which I hate.  Gamer Guy the character is pretty good though, most sociopaths are like him, not killers (for now) but still very petty and destructive.

Dex doing recon in Gamer Guy’s pad and then threatening him was reckless but plausible, but after discovering Gamer was a fearless sociopath, returning to the pad and injecting the guy made no sense.  Gamer was an asshhole and a threat, but still did not meet The Code, so what was Dex going to do after kidnapping him? And even if Dex hadn’t called Deb (stupid stupid stupid) he had no way to get rid of Gamer for good, as Deb would’ve figured it out immediately.

I saw the very fast chopped scenes of events to come throughout the season a total of once, and haven’t looked at it since. I do remember Gamer Guy isn’t going away any time soon and will become more dangerous.

What follows is pure speculation, much of it obvious:

Pretty Boy starts a ‘relationship’ with the stripper to get inside info.  She’s as good as dead when Eurogangster learns of it.

Eurogangster will acquire the video from the airport and see Dexter wheeling Victor away.

Dex will see Debra naked, at least through the glass. They’re going to kiss.

At some point, an event will occur that will put Deb in Dex’s corner. Perhaps a hated criminal will walk, and she will unleash him on the bad guys.

Later Deb will end up saving him, based on knowing his secret.

Jamie will be killed.

Masuka will almost be killed.

LaGuerta ???

One more thing, let’s hope “blood spaghetti” never makes a return cameo.

 

Tags: Angel Batista, Arrow, Bay Harbor Butcher, Big Bang Theory, Debra Morgan, Dexter, Dexter Morgan, Dexter Season 7, ep, episodes, Frank Lundy, Harrison, Harry Morgan, Harry's Code, incest, Jennifer Carpenter, Joseph Quinn, knife through the heart, LaGuerta, M99, miami, Miami Metro, Michael C. Hall, murder, on the table, Patrick Bateman, serial killers, Showtime, sociopaths, Vince Masuka, wrapped in plastic